Zac Thornton tossed six solid innings, Juan Soto homered among his three hits and the host New York Mets beat the Philadelphia Phillies 6-3 in the second game of a four-game series on Friday.
The Phillies and Chicago Cubs both lost on Friday, dropping them into a three-way tie with the San Diego Padres for the three National League wild-card spots. All three teams are 85-69. The Arizona Diamondbacks (80-74) are the nearest pursuer, five games back.
Carson Benge laced an RBI single in the first inning to give the Mets (70-84) a lead they never relinquished.
Fellow rookie outfielder A.J. Ewing added a two-run single two batters later, and Soto delivered a three-run homer in the sixth as New York snapped a five-game losing streak — its longest since a seven-game slide from June 20-26.
Soto went 3-for-5 and Benge and Francisco Lindor finished with two hits for the Mets, who received one hit apiece from their other six starters.
Thornton (5-5) gave up two runs on five hits and one walk while striking out four. He is 5-4 with a 3.26 ERA in 12 starts since his most recent promotion from Triple-A Syracuse.
Bryson Stott delivered a run-scoring double in the second for the Phillies before Edmundo Sosa and Derek Hill hit solo homers in the sixth and seventh, respectively.
Sosa finished 3-for-3 as Philadelphia fell to 7-9 this month.
Nate Lavender surrendered Hill’s homer in 1 2/3 innings before Dedniel Nunez recorded his first save by tossing 1 1/3 perfect innings.
Tim Mayza (3-4), serving in an opener role, took the loss for the Phillies after allowing three runs on three hits and one walk in one-third of an inning. Mayza tossed 32 pitches and had back-to-back 10-pitch battles with Soto and Bo Bichette, the second and third batters he faced.
Jose Urquidy relieved Mayza and allowed five hits over 4 2/3 scoreless innings. Urquidy, who was claimed off waivers from the Chicago White Sox on Thursday, walked none while striking out six.
–Field Level Media
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This story was originally published September 18, 2026 at 7:14 PM.